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Originally Posted by dlross  I had Chelsea on more meat with little grain, (home cooked) which was higher in protein, and she grained a lot of weight. My vet said to put her on a low protein and every pet food specialist store here also agreed that small breeds shld be on a lower protein factor. I wld rather have her on no grain food, so I’m at a loss of what is needed for them. How old is yr Yorkie and how long have they been the food?  |
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Originally Posted by Marias that's what i'm afraid of, that yorkies don't support so much protein..because they are so little, the idea of they being in the wild and carnivores are all great, but the thing is they don't live in the wild, they live in apartments or whatever as they don't spend as much protein and they would in the wild huntting or exercising. |
If a dog is gaining (or has gained) weight - it isn't due to too much protein or too much carbs - it's too many calories. There actually are studies out there that show more inappropriate weight gain on a higher carb diet vs. a higher protein diet - but I don't have the energy right now to find them for you. They're out there though.
But it's almost beside the point. A higher protein diet, for a dog, would be considered more nutrient dense and bio-available - bc that's what their bodies can most efficiently assimilate - they're carnivores and that's what they're bodies are
designed to eat. Therefore, when feeding a nutrient dense diet - you are supposed to feed less volume and it's usually indicated. The kcal analysis is different and you have to adjust accordingly.
As for the homecooking - was it balanced? Was the cal-phos ratio in check? What % prot/carb/fat were you feeding? Was her daily calorie intake calculated? There are so many things that go into homecooking and so very many things that can easily contribute to weight gain in homecooking.
The bottom line is: a size of a being doesn't determine whether or not it can deal with protein. Find a food you trust, a way of feeding you trust, learn about canine digestion and carnivores a bit - AND learn
your dog's body - then feed to condition.
